The SETUP

 Possibly the best part of any trial, is our defendant. What? Who? When? Was the person framed? Was it a crime of passion? Who will come off more Villainous, surprisingly it isn’t always the person being tried! Let Roleplay flow from you, settling disputes can be fun in the right setting. Do all trials have to be long? No, consider a short night court version. Farmer’s arguing over prized pigs, Ladies of the night stealing their victims’ wallets. Simple matters really, yet entertaining. However, there is something to be said for the ever engrossing Murder trial, where a person’s life hangs in the balance.

Location

 I have seen some very nice house customizations with just the right touches. Personalizing your courtroom is part of the fun of Ultima. Adding little touches, like an apple for the judge, the jurors area, judges box all add to the element of realism that Ultima gives our Roleplay. That being said, there are a few locations built in game. The Court of Truth, Built in Yew has held some of the most popular trials in Ultima and Player based lore.

Ultima Trial Lore

 Ultima lore has wound its path across many a trial. Some of the more well known ones are:

 Keeonan, the general of Minax’s Army was caught back in 2003, and tried in the Court of Truth. Upon his conviction, Lady Minax herself appeared and killed him in front of a stunned audience.

 Ricardo was another famous trial, tried for stealing from the Ophidians and starting a major war. He was arrested and his prosecuting attorney was none other then Lord Casca himself.

 One of the more Recent trials involves Lady Danica Amandine and the Knights’ of the Crux Ansata. Lord Dupre himself call’s into question her brutal behaviour in this excerpt penned to the Citzenry of Sosaria:

 It is now that I bring formal charges against her for the murder of the man known as Reddish.  The facts of this case are not at all in dispute. Lady Amandine readily admits to the torture and murder of Reddish at the docks of Britain. She tortured him, murdered him, and then drug his corpse through the entire city north. She then deputized her Knights of the Crux Ansata, making them complicit in yet another killing….. **Written by EM Bennu

The Verdict and Sentencing

 Here we see the seeds of conflict arise, as the juror spoke the word, DEATH, the crowd roared into outrage…..

Rarely do people agree, and when the fate of an individual, beloved or hated rests in the hands of stranger’s tis never a pretty site. My favorite part of any trial often stems from those precious moments where the verdict is revealed and the defendant cries tears of joy, or falls into sadness and shame. For it is the moment when we must bravely defend what we believe.

Crime, and Punishment, My Final Note

 Fnally, my favorite part, ensuring that Justice is met and if a guilty verdict is reached, that punishment is carried thru. Consider the weight of a death Sentence, a public hanging or execution can add another night of fun to your roster of RP events. Ultima has many devastating weapons of death and torture at our leisure, from Pillory’s, Guillotines, Executioners’ axes…

 Just consider the Consequences, for in Ultima, death is never final. You may be haunted by that ghost yet..

Reporters Log: I would like to point out that I gathered my lore and information from Ricardo and Keeonens storys from http://www.uoguide.com/Ricardo as well as taking a bit of the EM fiction from http://uo2.stratics.com/community/threads/from-the-desk-of-lord-dupre-the-lion-of-trinsic.280013/ . I would like to also say that the EM Event involving the trial of Lady Danica was alot of fun and certainly did inspire me to write this article. I hope to see a few Roleplay trials popping up around the shards soon!